Itinerary - Mexico

Day 1: Arrival Puerta Vallarta Airport in early or mid-afternoon. Pick up and transfer to El Tuito to Rancho Primavera, located in the mountains south of Puerta Vallarta. This will be our location for 3 nights. Dinner will be served soon after our arrival.
Day 2: Today we explore the bird-rich ranch grounds for specialities such as the San Blas Jay, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Russet-crowned Motmot, Streak-backed Oriole, Yellow-winged Caciques and Acorn Woodpecker. The beautiful but rare Military Macaw often can be seen overhead. The ranch owners are sponsoring a protection plan for these endangered parrots, which are in very low numbers here. In 2008, at the lovely stream which runs through the ranch property, we found a ficus tree full of fruit...and birds ! Rufous-backed and White-throated robins, Citreoline and Elegant Trogons, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper and 25 Orange-fronted Parakeets. At the stream itself were Hooded Warbler, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, both waterthrushes, Happy Wren and Green Kingfisher.
We lunch in the town of El Tuito at a restaurant with grounds attracting birds, then head west 3 kms. to a mountain road at Rancho los Otates. Along this quiet road we can find many warblers, raptors and flycatchers, as well as the world's 2nd-smallest hummingbird, the Bumblebee Hummingbird. Our ranch hosts will serve dinner. Afterwards we can view the stars and perhaps call in an owl. Ov. : Rancho Primavera. B/L/D.
Day 3: The ranch has several hummingbird feeders. In 2008 we saw there Plain-capped Starthroat, Cinammon, Berylline, Black-chinned, Ruby-throated, Calliope and Broad-billed hummingbirds. There are 2 ponds which occasionally hold such waterbirds as Least Grebe, ducks, herons and egrets. The trail by the river is always worth checking for rarities. Nearby, towards the coast, the thorn scrub can produce Orange-breasted Bunting, Elegant Quail, Grayish Saltator, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Red-breasted Chat and Masked Tityra. Ov. : Rancho Primavera. B/L/D.
Day 4: Today we depart for San Sebastian in the mountains north of Puerta Vallarta. We drive via Ixtapa on a new road to this historical, former mining town. We are stationed at the Hacienda Jalisco, an American-owned hotel with beautiful grounds which should produce several new birds. B/L/D.
Day 5: After breakfast, we drive just north of San Sebastian to a higher area where stands a microwave tower. The road up can produce some rare endemics such as Mountain Trogon, Lesser Roadrunner and Long-tailed Wood Partridge. After lunch and a siesta, we will again bird the beautiful grounds of the Hacienda Jalisco, our home for the night. B/L/D.
Day 6: We leave mid-morning for San Blas, situated among mangroves and lagoons on the Pacific coast. Stops enroute will occur along the ocean and at 2 bird-filled ponds near the town. Our hotel here is that used by all the main birding companies visiting San Blas, with lovely grounds and swimming pool, and only metres away from the estuary. Mottled Owls are often found in the palms at night. At 3 pm we take a boat trip of the river and canal to La Tovara and its mineral springs. At dusk here we can see Rufous-bellied Chachalacas, many Lesser Nighthawks and Common Pauraques. A highlight will be Northern Potoos (in 2008 we saw 8).Other possibilities include Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Rufous-necked Wood Rail, Mangrove Warbler, Snail Kite and Limpkin, plus fruit bats and American Crocodiles. We will be on the river until 7.30 pm. Ov.: Hotel Garza Canela B/L/D.
Day 7:Today Armando Santiago, our local guide, will lead us through a shade-grown coffee plantation at La Bajada, which can be excellent for birds. The stunning Black-throated Magpie-Jays should be seen along with Yellow-winged Caciques, Fan-tailed Warbler, Blue Mockingbird, Rosy-crowned Ant Tanager, Grayson's Thrush, and maybe Abeille's Oriole. After lunch, we will check out the ponds near the sewage plant in San Blas for Spoonbills, ducks and shorebirds, then drive via the shrimp ponds to the village of Chacalilla. This road is very good for raptors including Harris' Hawk, Short-tailed and Black hawks, White-tailed Kite and Osprey. Ov. : Hotel Garza Canela . B/L/D.
Day 8:This morning, Armando will guide us through the village, fields and forest of La Singayta, 7 kms. from San Blas. Target species here are Pale-billed and Lineated woodpeckers, Black-ventedOriole, Black-capped Vireo, Godman's Euphonia, White-throated Flycatcher, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Greenish Elaenia and Gray-crowned Woodpecker. Lunch will be eaten enroute as we head north for the famous road inland from Mazatlan known as the Durango Highway. Here we stop at the newly-created Tufted Jay Reserve near the village of El Palmito. This will be our base in the Sierra Occidental Mountains for 2 nights. We hope to bird here in the late afternoon along the canyon known as the Barranca Rancho Liebre. After dinner, we will search for nightbirds. B/L/D.
Day 9: This morning a local birding guide will help us find some of the Reserve's most sought-after species, including the stunning Tufted Jay, Red Warbler, Red-faced Warbler, Red-headed Tanager, Hutton's Vireo, Pine Flycatcher, Aztec Thrush, Eared Quetzal, Thick-billed Parrot, White-naped Swift, Colima Pygmy Owl, Stygian Owl, Green-striped Brushfinch and Hooded Grosbeak. After lunch, we will bird in the late afternoon for more specialities. Ov.: Tufted Jay Reserve. B/L/D.
Day 10:After a pre-breakfast optional walk, we eat, then drive back towards San Blas, stopping early afternoon at El Cerro de San Juan, near Tepic. This preserved environment in the mountains hosts many North American warblers during our winter as well as several Mexican endemics. Targets in the higher pine forests are White-throated Woodcreeper, Russet Nightingale Thrush, Grace's, Hermit, Olive, Rufous-capped and Crescent-chested warblers, Rusty Sparrow, Arizona Woodpecker, Tufted Flycatcher, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Spotted Wren, Say's Phoebe, Eared Poorwill and Hepatic Tanager. Ov.: Hotel Zar, Tepic. B/L/D.
Day 11::Our final day will begin with an early visit to El Mirador del Aguilar to view the spectacle of Military Macaws flying from their roost to feed in this gorgeous mountainous valley. Next we bird the lower slopes of El Cerro de San Juan for Green Jay, Brown-backed Solitaire, Nutting's Flycatcher, Golden Vireo, Blue Bunting, Mexican Woodnymph, Sinaloa Wren and Ladder-backed Woodpecker amongst others. Mid-morning we reluctantly head for Puerta Vallarta Airport in time for our late afternoon flights back home. B.